A week ago Wednesday was the monthly noontime Tidal Basin 3K race. Several people I knew from running were there.
Such as Jose, who is faster than me. He asked me what time I was going to get, because he likes my pace and he always runs a little ways behind me until the two-thirds point, when he effortlessly moves way up, always speaking encouragement to everyone he passes. I like Jose a lot, and he is a good guy, but it’s irritating to hear him coming and know you’re next. I told Jose I was shooting for 13:10, because that’s what I ran last month.
I ran by Peter early, as usual, and settled into a steady pace behind the fourth woman, who was running at a pace I liked. Yeah, this is the ticket, I told myself as I fell in 10 meters behind this pretty blonde thirty-something with the nice stride and the nicer lines.
I missed the 1K and one mile markers but passed by the 2K mark at 8:37 (6:56). Jose passed me around here, speaking encouragingly to me as he did so, telling me how great I looked and how smooth I was running. I hope he didn't see my thought bubble which was screaming, Liar! Jose rapidly drew off and went past the woman I was chasing, finishing well ahead of us both.
Soon, despite my desire, I couldn’t keep up with the woman anymore and she started to draw ahead too. Then two men passed me. With three hundred meters I passed one of them back. He passed me again. I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t see Peter back there. I could see the finish clock now, in the high 12s. I didn’t think I could get there in time to break 13, always my objective in this race, but I did make a push and passed the second man one last time. I finished one second ahead of him in 13:03 (7:00).
I was 31/61, six seconds behind the woman I had been pursuing all race and four seconds behind the man who passed me late. Peter, the caboose in our busy little bunch, finished ten seconds behind me, one second in back of the fifth woman. I regretted not going with the first man who passed me late because then I might have broken 13 minutes, as he finished in 12:59. But I was happy I found the energy to engage in a duel with the second man who pa
ssed me late because I have been working on finishing more strongly.
This, my 88th Tidal Basin race, was yet another fun short race.
Such as Jose, who is faster than me. He asked me what time I was going to get, because he likes my pace and he always runs a little ways behind me until the two-thirds point, when he effortlessly moves way up, always speaking encouragement to everyone he passes. I like Jose a lot, and he is a good guy, but it’s irritating to hear him coming and know you’re next. I told Jose I was shooting for 13:10, because that’s what I ran last month.
I ran by Peter early, as usual, and settled into a steady pace behind the fourth woman, who was running at a pace I liked. Yeah, this is the ticket, I told myself as I fell in 10 meters behind this pretty blonde thirty-something with the nice stride and the nicer lines.
I missed the 1K and one mile markers but passed by the 2K mark at 8:37 (6:56). Jose passed me around here, speaking encouragingly to me as he did so, telling me how great I looked and how smooth I was running. I hope he didn't see my thought bubble which was screaming, Liar! Jose rapidly drew off and went past the woman I was chasing, finishing well ahead of us both.
Soon, despite my desire, I couldn’t keep up with the woman anymore and she started to draw ahead too. Then two men passed me. With three hundred meters I passed one of them back. He passed me again. I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t see Peter back there. I could see the finish clock now, in the high 12s. I didn’t think I could get there in time to break 13, always my objective in this race, but I did make a push and passed the second man one last time. I finished one second ahead of him in 13:03 (7:00).
I was 31/61, six seconds behind the woman I had been pursuing all race and four seconds behind the man who passed me late. Peter, the caboose in our busy little bunch, finished ten seconds behind me, one second in back of the fifth woman. I regretted not going with the first man who passed me late because then I might have broken 13 minutes, as he finished in 12:59. But I was happy I found the energy to engage in a duel with the second man who pa
ssed me late because I have been working on finishing more strongly.This, my 88th Tidal Basin race, was yet another fun short race.
4 comments:
I hate those nice people who are all encouraging as they pass you. Bastards!
ha ha danielle!
you're getting closer!
Haha.. love your description of the "thought bubble"! Good race!
You're well on your way to breaking 13.
Post a Comment